So, What Is the New York Knicks Plan for the NBA Draft?

Mar 17, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Malik Monk (5) brings the ball up court against the Northern Kentucky Norse during the second half in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Tonight’s NBA Draft is big for the future of the New York Knicks. Let’s try to break down how the Knickerbockers might approach tonight.

A week-and-a-half after an exciting and explosive NBA Finals series of Round Three between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers concluded, the NBA offseason is already dominating the sports headlines and the gossip won’t be slowing down anytime soon.

In the last couple of days, teams have been very active and in hot pursuit of making whatever necessary moves to improve their squad. The NBA offseason is off and running basketball fanatics.

We’ve already seen the Boston Celtics send their No. 1 overall pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for their No. 3 pick.

The Los Angeles Lakers are wheeling and dealing in an attempt to restore prominence back to the storied franchise.

To top it off, Indiana Pacers star small forward Paul George is the current biggest name on the trading block with the Lakers and Cavs in talks to acquire him.

Then we have the New York Knicks, who desperately need some ray of hope. However, Knicks President Phil Jackson has reportedly put the team’s most promising piece and pretty much the one positive commodity they have on their roster in Kristaps Porzingis, on the trading block and is fielding offers.

Why, you may ask? I have no idea.

It’s not smart for the Knicks to trade their one building block away, especially when they have a chance to pair that building block with another talented young player starting with tonight’s draft.

It’s all about building a strong nucleus and stable foundation moving forward. It starts tonight for the discombobulated franchise.

The Knicks currently hold the No. 8, No. 44 and No. 58 in tonight’s draft. This might be the deepest draft in years, so the Knicks should be able to come away with three worthwhile players.

The Knicks can’t be picky. They need everything and selecting either one of those players would be a smart option, although the two guys the Knicks should have their eyes set on are Malik Monk and Dennis Smith Jr.

The 6’4″ Monk is more of a two-guard that can straight light it up from outside when he’s on and his ability to take the game over offensively might be as good as anyone in the draft.

When I watch the 6’3″ Smith Jr. perform, he reminds me of Steve Francis. I see some Damian Lillard in him too. With his slick ball-handling, explosiveness when attacking the basket, leaping ability and aptitude to get his own shot at any moment, pairing him with Porzingis would serve New York well.

I really can’t see how the Knicks don’t come away with a good player at No. 8.

The awesome thing about the 2017 draft is that there are a ton of players that are projected to go in the second round (Indiana’s OG Anunoby, SMU’s Semi Ojeleye, Villanova’s Josh Hart, UCLA’s Ike Anigbogu, Oregon’s Tyler Dorsey and Dillon Brooks, Baylor’s Jonathan Motley, Kansas’ Frank Mason, Arizona’s Kobi Simmons, etc) that would have almost certainly been drafted in the first round in any other year, if this year’s draft edition wasn’t so stacked with talented, star potential prospects.

Well, that’s good news for the Knicks, who have two second-round picks. I see plenty of players that could come in and make instant contributions from the second round. We shall see where New York decides to go.

If there’s one thing Knicks fans should not root for, it’s that future star Kristaps Porzingis doesn’t get traded. That would set the Knicks back even more.